Near-to-eye displays, such as night vision goggles and altered reality goggles, require maintenance ports for software installation, software updates, configuration, and testing. The maintenance port provides communication between the near-to-eye display and an external computing device which is running maintenance software. When the maintenance port is a wired port, such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, the port should be easily accessible so that software can be easily updated. This means that the port should be accessible to a fully assembled device. For a night vision goggle which is designed to withstand harsh environment, providing an external port requires providing access to the port through the external cover of the night vision goggle. Furthermore, the port itself must be robust in order to withstand the harsh environments in which the night vision goggle is designed to operate.
Adding additional wired ports to a near-to-eye display incurs additional manufacturing cost, including but not limited to the cost of the port itself. For example, the port will need to be provided with electro-magnetic interference (EMI) and environmental shielding. If a wireless port is utilized, an antenna must be chosen which is capable of penetrating the EMI shielding of the near-to-eye display.
Near-to-eye displays may be equipped with a hot shoe connection. The hot shoe connection may be configured to provide a near-to-eye display with power and grounding, as well as control signals. For example, a hot shoe connection may connect a night vision goggle to a mounting device. Signals received through the hot shoe connection may indicate to the night vision goggle whether or not the mounting device is in an active or stowed position.